Artium Baccalaureus (AB), Ohio University, 2014, French

Pendant que les communautes rurales se trouvent de plus en plus poussees vers l’urbanisation, les paysans francais s’accrochent a leurs proprietes et a leur heritage. L’agriculture mecanisee, alimentee par un haut taux d’investissement et des developpements technologiques, remplace le besoin du travail manuel a la campagne pendant que les methodes productivistes augment brusquement la reserve des produits agricoles aux niveaux excessifs, font baisser les prix, et saisissent la part de marche. Bien que les grandes corporations agroalimentaires en France soient mieux regulees que celles dans d’autres pays tels que les Etats-Unis, la legislation au niveau national et au niveau europeen favorisent les operations agricoles plus efficaces au depens des petites fermes traditionnelles. Cette these part en exploration des chances de reussite de redynamiser les communautes rurales durables en France, et les benefices atteignables si l’on soutient des methodes de culture traditionnelles et moins intensives. As rural communities find themselves continuously pushed towards urbanization, the French provincial-farmer class clings to its landholdings and its heritage. New investments in expensive farming equipment and techniques are replacing the need for manual labor in the countryside as productivist methods hike the supply of agricultural products to excessive levels, depress prices, and seize market share. While large food and agriculture corporations in France are more tightly regulated than they are in countries such as the United States, legislation at both the national and European levels have favored more efficient agricultural operations to the detriment of traditional small farms. This thesis explores the viability of reinvigorating sustainable rural communities in France and the benefits of supporting less-intensive, more traditional farming practices.

Committee: Lois Vines Dr. (Advisor) Subjects: Agricultural Economics; Agriculture; Business Costs; Conservation; Demographics; Economics; Environmental Economics; Environmental Health; Environmental Management; Environmental Studies; European Studies; Food Science; Modern History